In A Nutshell
When we hear of one group of people targeting another based on something like race, nationality or religion, the terms “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” are often tossed around to mean the same thing. To be specific, the end goal of genocide is complete destruction of a particular group, while ethnic cleansing is an expulsion of the group from a certain area, often encouraged by violence. While ethnic cleansing technically isn’t usually a crime (although the behaviors it describes are), genocide is. Not everyone wants to keep them separate, while others argue that treating them both the same is lessening the severity of genocide.
The Whole Bushel
Both the terms “genocide” and “ethnic cleaning” have distinct emotions attached to them, and while they’re often used by the media as interchangeable terms, there are some important distinctions, even though there’s no formal, legal definition that’s accepted worldwide. When it comes to the United Nations, the two actions are completely different, and something labeled as actions of ethnic cleansing are not considered a part of the criminal acts of genocide.
Genocide is considered any act committed against a group with the intention of destroying that group completely. Whether the target is selected based on race, nationality, religion, or ethnicity, genocide is done with the end goal of completely eradicating a group of people. According to The Genocide Convention, there are a number of different ways it can be done, including the removal of children and the future generations of a people, measures that prevent the birth of a new generation, and, of course, the infliction of death, bodily harm, or mental harm on a certain group.
Ethnic cleansing, on the other hand, is the process of removing particular groups from an area. The same groups are often targeted in both cases, with race, nationality, and religion being major selection factors.
Where the methods and end goals of genocide are extermination, the methods and end goals of ethnic cleansing might be removal and resettlement, although that often comes along with a price paid in human lives. Deportation, expulsion orders, and forcible removal are all a part of ethnic cleansing.
The line between the two is often horrifyingly unclear, although the UN recognizes them as two separate crimes. Ethnic cleansing is considered a crime against humanity, while intent plays a huge part in the definition of genocide. For crimes to be considered genocide, there must be a specific end goal behind the actions – eradication.
What sounds simple on paper has been incredibly complicated in real practice. The ongoing argument is that there have been countless cases where acts of ethnic cleansing have had clearly genocidal implications, and that’s led to entire international tribunals debating whether or not acts of ethnic cleansing should be seen as genocide. On the other side of the argument, those in favor of keeping the two very separate state that saying ethnic cleansing is the same as genocide is a denial of just how horrific genocide is, likening it to what’s often an only slightly less horrific crime.
Genocide can be viewed as the ultimate step in ethnic cleansing, but even that distinction often doesn’t help to make matters more clear.
Perhaps most bizarre of all is the absolute lack of a specific definition of what is ethnic cleansing. Since there’s no accepted definition, it’s not technically a crime. Pieces of what make up the behaviors of ethnic cleansing—deportation, seizure of land and property, harassment, torture, and other such behaviors—are obviously illegal, but the debate over ethnic cleansing is still raging.
The whole argument really came about after World War II, when the term “genocide” was first used. At that time, the distinction was “intent to destroy” as opposed to “intent to remove,” although others say it’s a distinction that shouldn’t really matter from a moral standpoint.
Show Me The Proof
Featured photo credit: Godot13
Expanding the Crime of Genocide to Include Ethnic Cleansing, by Micol Sirkin
Virginia Commonwealth University: Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide: Similarities and Differences